Samsung Galaxy A18 Models Said to Drop Exynos Chip in Favour of MediaTek, Snapdragon

The Samsung Galaxy A17 5G was launched last year with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display and the company's in-house Exynos 1330 SoC. Now, the brand seems to be preparing to release the Galaxy A18 as a successor, as details about the chipset of this model have leaked online. Samsung will reportedly skip its own chipset for the upcoming A series phone; instead, the brand will opt for MediaTek and Qualcomm chipsets. The 4G variant of the Galaxy A18 is said to launch first.

Samsung Galaxy A18 5G Could Feature a Snapdragon Chip

As reported by ZDNet Korea, Samsung is expectdd to drop its Exynos chipset from the Galaxy A18 lineup. The 4G variant of the phone will reportedly run on a MediaTek processor, while the Galaxy A18 5G could feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset.

This would mark a departure from the Galaxy A17. The 4G variant of the phone has a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset, and the 5G model is equipped with Samsung's own Exynos 1330 SoC.

Samsung could turn to Snapdragon and MediaTek to reduce the manufacturing expenses. As memory prices are rising in international markets, adopting processors from MediaTek and Qualcomm could be more cost-effective than using chips manufactured by Samsung Electronics' System LSI business unit.

The report also offers hints about the launch timeline of the Galaxy A18. The 4G-supported model is said to go official first, followed by the 5G model months later. The duo is expected to arrive in the budget segment. The company is reportedly scheduled to begin mass production of Galaxy A18 4G in August. It is said to be targeting an Initial production of around 1,00,000 units in August, 2.4 million units in September and 2.5 million units in October. However, Product production plans are subject to change depending on market conditions.

The Galaxy A17 5G WAS released in August last year with a starting price tag of Rs. 18,999. It has a 6.7-inch full HD+ (1,080×2,340 pixels) Infinity-U Super AMOLED display and carries up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage. A triple rear camera unit, led by a 50-megapixel sensor, a 13-megapixel selfie shooter, and a 5,000mAh battery with support for 25W wired fast charging, are the other key highlights of the phone.